Tangled Hearts, Bound by Fate

Chapter 7

Like every other morning, I got up once my alarm went off. I must have gotten used to that, since I looked forward to what each day would look like. I was hardly one to keep the alarm on snooze just because I wanted to get a few more minutes or hours of sleep. Work days were significant for me and I couldn’t bear wasting another minute to sleep. The chef served a breakfast of French toast and scrambled eggs, together with my favorite coffee. Once I got done, I grabbed my coat and walked out of the house, feeling energized and ready to kick-start the day. Just as I arrived at the company, I had a quick thought about Maya. The past two months have been quite strange for both of us, but I could swear that I loved it. We were so apart from each other and when we stayed close to elaborate on a project or presentation, I could feel every bit of hate that swirled around the air. She hated me and despised me with all of her might. The cold look on her face each time we met, and the sound of her voice each time we spoke, was enough evidence. But then, I already trained myself to care less about what a woman thinks or feels about me. What was she expecting? That I would be all over her because we shared a night at her house? A small scoff escaped my lips as I rolled my eyes at that and majestically walked into the office premises. I got to my office and settled into the chair, feeling quite amazed that Maya’s office door was slightly open. It meant that she was at the office already. For as many times as I remembered, I arrived at the office before her. That was the basis for most of the ruckus we had. But then, seeing that she had arrived already was quite impressive. I had to be sure about this, and so, I picked up the telephone and placed a call across to her office line.“Hello, sir”, she replied with her usual cold and serious tone.“Get me a cup of tea”, I ordered and dropped the call, not waiting for any reply from her end. About two minutes later, she walked into my office, with a cup of tea in her hands and a small frown on her face. Her expression carried an array of emotions and I could tell that she had a lot to say. A part of my heart itched to ask her if everything was okay with her, but instead, I asked her to drop the tea on the table. She dropped it but didn’t attempt to leave. For minutes, she stood before me, with her head lowered to the ground like she was in a pensive state. Slowly, I lifted my head and stared at her intently. She had her hair up in a ponytail, and I couldn’t deny the fact that she looked gorgeous. Her fair skin and sharp pert, coupled with her rosy cheeks and graceful figure, made her a beautiful sight to behold.“Do you have anything to say to me?” I asked with my usual cold and baritone voice that lacked any glint of emotion. She made to talk, but the words barely left her lips. My eyes squinted in surprise as I gazed at Maya who was suddenly looking nervous, something that was never part of her traits. What was wrong with her? She took some steps backwards and turned to leave when she suddenly stopped in her tracks and took in a deep breath. In a split second, she swirled around again and looked into my eyes.“I have something to say to you”, she finally said, breathing softly and wiping her sweaty palms on her short blue dress. I got interested at this point because she was in a state of panic. Whatever it was she had to say was definitely important because I had never seen her so serious.“And what is it?” I chimed out, still wearing my stern and stoic face.“I was ill for a couple of days and…”, she started, but I already lost interest in what she wanted to divulge.

She probably wanted to ask for some days off work and that was something I wouldn’t oblige with.“I don’t care if you were sick. You have to work every single day if you want to get paid”, I bluntly replied. I caught a glimpse of pain in her eyes the minute I said that, but I didn’t care.“Well…about that…”, she trailed off and finally took in another sharp breath.“I ran some tests and discovered that I’m pregnant. I’m carrying… your child”, she dropped. My brain stuttered for a moment, replaying all that she had just said. My eyes popped out of their sockets, and every part of my body went on a pause.“What did you say?” I asked, hoping that I had just heard wrongly. This wasn’t close to what I had expected to hear from her. It came like a bomb to my ears, but I wasn’t ready to believe it yet.“I’m pregnant with your child”, she had sweats forming on her forehead just as she stared into my eyes. I could see the fear that was buried deep in those eyes, even if she tried to sound firm.

Almost immediately, I broke into a loud round of laughter, causing her to look at me in amusement. She was shocked to see me laughing because she parted her lips slightly.“So, this was your plan after all? You came close to me because you wanted to trick me!” I declared, and immediately, she staggered. She had an unbelievable look on her face, and I didn’t care. This was what women did, and I wasn’t going to fall prey to their pity games.“Trick you? You came to me!” She suddenly declared, causing me to stop right in my tracks.